Of monkeys, men and menstruation: Gendered dualisms and the absent referent in mid-twentieth century British menstrual science

In this paper, I analyse the historical constructions of menstruation in mid-twentieth century Britain. I examine the complex intertwining relations between the female human body and the female nonhuman body. My argument is twofold: firstly, I argue that endocrinological experiments on nonhuman animals' reproductive cycles were mobilised towards affirming a binary division of female/male, animal/human. This facilitated the perpetuation of patriarchal ideologies in British biomedical research. Secondly, I argue that as a result of these dualistic conceptualisations, the female nonhuman body intersected with the female human body in scientific discourses. These bodily transmutations in scientific research contributed towards a form of social control over women, strategically rendering them as ‘Other’ with nonhuman animals. I illustrate this using Carol J Adams' (2015) concept of the absent referent.